July 23/10 10:42 am - Cascade Classic: Men Stage 2 results

Rory Sutherland of the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis put it another strong time trial in Stage 2 of the Cascade Classic, placing 3rd behind a pair of TT specialists in Ben Day (V Australia) and prologue winner Jesse Sergent (Trek-Livestrong).

“I felt pretty good the first couple days, and I know when I’m feeling good I can do a good time trial,” Sutherland said. “Yesterday, Marc (de Maar) and I wanted to put as much time into the pure time trialists as possible. I was able to get a little over 30 seconds on Day yesterday. And to be within 30 seconds of the specialists today was good.”

The 16-mile Skyliners TT course offered up roughly a thousand feet of climbing in its first half until the turnaround, at which point riders descended back to the finish at high speeds.

“It’s definitely more of a thinking type of course,” Sutherland said. “After the last couple years, I have a pretty good grasp on how to race it. There was a headwind on the way up. And with the tailwind on the way down, there was definitely more to be gained by going a bit harder on the climb. Some guys will be quicker than others on the way back down, depending on how much energy you burned going up. But with the tailwind pushing you home, the gaps aren’t going to be that significant. It’s definitely a burner on the way back.”

With the V Australia duo of Day and Darren Lill going well, Sutherland sees them as the biggest threat. But, he said, “yesterday was a pretty good indication of where Marc and I are at.”

Tomorrow’s stage offers up more climbing, including the finishing run up to the Mt. Bachelor ski resort. “The finish isn’t too hard, but it may be hard enough to get some time,” Sutherland added. “Marc might be able to use the finish to move up a bit. Regardless, we’ll be riding a fairly tactical race. We’ve raced together enough that we know what the other is doing at all times. Yesterday was also a good indication of that.”

Sutherland takes a 0:15 lead on Day into the 84-mile stage. De Maar rode a solid time trial today, finishing 16th while giving up 1:32 to Day after gaining 0:31 on him yesterday. He now sits in 4th place overall, 1:07 back of his teammate, and 0:10 behind 3rd overall Lill.